Where a Gateway Leads to
by Zoara
Summary: Rand's gateway problems lead to more than he expected. R&R please. (Some spoilers from books 6, 7 and 9. I think that's all.) CHAPTER 9 OUT!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series or anything else other than the plot.  
  
Spoilers: only if you haven't read up to book nine  
  
Where a Gateway leads to  
  
Rand quickly ducked as a sword swung where his head had just been and buried his sword in the man's stomach. He turned and saw four more surrounding him, swords drawn. They all attacked at the same time, one of them stabbing Rand in the shoulder as he cut two of the men down. Rand quickly avoided another lunge; stepping aside his sword caught one of the remaining men in the stomach. The last was more skilled. The man blocked Rand's attacks, but his guard dropped for a second and Rand quickly finished him off. "We should get out of here before more come," he said to Min as he quickly wove a gateway and half pulled Min through with him.  
  
Rand stood up slowly, clutching his shoulder and looking around. This is not Cairhien. He thought to himself, grimacing as he tried to move his shoulder. He found he could barely move it.  
  
"You're hurt." Min said worriedly even before she looked at him.  
  
"I'll be fine," he said reassuringly as he ripped off the sleeve of his coat and folding it up, put it under his shirt where the wound was to stop the bleeding. "Really." he added under Min's disbelieving look.  
  
"Where-" Min started as Rand cut her off.  
  
"I'm not sure," he said quietly.  
  
"We're lost!" Min all but screamed. "I thought you decide where the gateways bring you."  
  
"So did I." he said quietly, somewhat stunned himself.  
  
"Well, can't you just make another gateway and get us out of here?" she stubbornly.  
  
"It's not that easy," he muttered shaking his head. Suddenly something came to mind. "Of course!" he exclaimed, then seeing Min's questioning look he explained. "If I create the gateway exactly where the other gateway came out, I could create one more quickly." Rand walked over to exactly where they had come out and seizing Saidin, began weaving the gateway as Min hurried over to him. The gateway opened up and the two of them stepped inside.  
  
Rand stepped out of the gateway into a room that looked like it had not been used in years, the only light coming from a broken off corner of the wooden door. I wonder where we are now. he thought as Min emerged from the gateway just as it closed.  
  
"Where are we now?" Min wondered aloud as Rand tried to create another gateway. The gateway began to open but collapsed before completely opening. With a stunned look, Rand tried to open a gateway several more times, all with the same results.  
  
"Well, it looks like we're stuck here for now." he muttered absently. "Wherever here is." he added. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time or anything pertaining to it  
  
"Well, I suppose since we can't get out of here for now we should try to find out where we are." Rand suggested as he wove the Mask of Mirrors around him and Min. He opened the door slightly, and seeing no one in the hall he pushed the door, creaking noisily on its hinges, open the rest of the way.  
  
Rand and Min wandered down the hall until they came to a set of stairs leading down. They cautiously walked down the extremely long staircase. Hearing voices coming closer, they hurried to the nearest room and shut the door. "Blood and ashes." Rand muttered as he realized the voices were coming right towards them. Min saw a balcony and they hurried over to it and closed the curtain.  
  
The door opened and four women strode in, one sat at a high backed chair behind a polished wood desk. Rand peeked through the curtain slightly and quickly closed it.  
  
Min looked around in shock, "Uh, Rand," she said.  
  
Rand was pacing muttering, "Blood and bloody flaming ashes. Of all the bloody-"  
  
"Rand," Min cut in "we're in-"  
  
"The White Tower, I know." he said. "I just saw Elaida in that room." he said with an amused grin when he felt surprise coming through the bond.  
  
Min grinned and gave a slight shake of her head, "So, what are we going to do now?"  
  
"I'm not sure." he said quietly. Rand peeked through the curtains again. The other women had left and Elaida was the only one in the room. His shoulder burned where the fresh stab wound was. Wincing, he turned away from Min pretending to be looking around.  
  
Min felt the change in the bond and frowned worriedly at Rand. Looking out beyond the city's walls, Min saw something and grinned. "Can you Travel to just beyond the city walls?" she asked keeping her voice to a whisper.  
  
Rand frowned, noticing the change in the bond, then said thoughtfully, "Maybe, since I can see it." He seized Saidin and wove the weaves for a gateway. Nothing happened. He tried it again and after a moment the gateway opened. He stepped through and Min followed. Looking around he realized that he was outside of Tar Valon. 'It worked.' he thought.  
  
"We should get as far away as we can that way the guards don't see us." Min said and began walking towards where she had seen the fire. Rand frowned wondering where she was going and why he felt excitement in the bond. "Are you coming?" she asked. He sighed and followed her into the woods.  
  
Yeah, I know. I like to leave you in suspense though. 


	3. Chapter 3

Again, I don't own Wheel of Time or anything that comes from Robert Jordan's books.  
  
Chapter 3:  
  
"Min, where are we going?" Rand asked suspiciously as Min continued to make her way towards something, and quickly too.  
  
"I have a friend who lives nearby." she said with a slightly mischievous grin.  
  
"A friend? Out here?" he said warily. "Who would this friend happen to be?"  
  
She ignored the question. "You should probably wait here." Min suggested when they were almost at the edge of the woods. "There will be Aes Sedai with her." she explained.  
  
Rand seized Saidin and wove the Mask of Mirrors around him and suddenly he looked about five years younger, almost two hand shorter, with brown hair and dark eyes. "That better?" he asked as he tied off the weaves around himself. She nodded slightly and they walked towards the clearing.  
  
When they emerged from the forests, Rand saw nearly twenty Aes Sedai going to and from tents or walking around. Min nearly ran over to one of the Aes Sedai. She spoke quickly and quietly to the Aes Sedai who answered before Min rushed off. 'Light, what is she up to now?' he wondered as he hurried after her. She had stopped in front of one of the larger tents and was waiting to see if he was following. He gave her a suspicious look as she ducked into the tent. He sighed deeply before ducking in after her.  
  
Egwene looked up from the reports on her desk as Min walked in and stopped in front of the desk. "Min!" she said excitedly as she walked over to her. A moment later, a young man ducked in and froze when he saw her, before glaring at Min, who had a triumphant look on her face. Egwene glared at him, "Who do you bloody think you are, barging in here like this?" She could have sworn he smirked, which made her glare even harder, as he took a step forward to lean slightly on the desk, quickly pulling his right arm back. She stood there slightly stunned as the air around him shimmered and he became Rand. Noticing blood on his shoulder, she seized Saidar and placing her hands on his head, she quickly wove the weaves for healing and settled them into him. He moved his shoulder around a bit, testing it out, before muttering a quick thanks. Egwene frowned slightly, "Rand, what are you doing here?" He took a deep breath, running his hands through his hair, before telling her what had happened from the time he made the first Gateway to when he and Min had showed up here.  
  
She nodded thoughtfully as he told the story. "What happened, Rand? A few days back, I mean. Everyone here has been on edge ever since we felt more Saidar being channeled than anyone ever thought possible."  
  
"Nynaeve and I cleaned Saidin." Rand said casually. He heard a gasp and spun around.  
  
Siuan stood frozen in the entrance to the tent, not seeming to notice that she had dropped some of the papers she was carrying.  
  
"Siuan," Egwene's voice bringing here out of her shock. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"You said you wanted these reports as soon as they came in, Mother." Siuan said as she picked up the few papers that had fallen, before giving them to Egwene. She turned her attention to Rand, "How did you bloody well do that?"  
  
"Yes, I'm wondering the same thing." Egwene added.  
  
"You've heard of the Choeden Kal, two Sa'angreal statues, one buried on Tremalking and another in Cairhien?" he questioned. When they nodded he continued. "Well, I had two ter'angreal keys, so we could access them from anywhere. We went to Shadar Logoth and Nynaeve and I linked, we both drew as much of the One Power as we could, and then I channeled Saidin into Saidar. It cleansed the taint." he explained.  
  
Egwene sighed and rubbed her left temple. She could feel another head ache coming on. "You're sure it's cleansed though?" she asked quietly. When he nodded she sighed this time in relief. "Well, that will take care of some problems." she said more to herself than to anyone else. "So, what's your next move?" she asked turning her attention back to him.  
  
"Elaida." Rand said as if it should have been obvious. "She's been a bloody splinter in my hand ever since those ambassadors of hers showed up at Cairhien." the disgust in his voice at the word "ambassadors" let them all know exactly what he thought of Elaida's ambassadors.  
  
"And just how do you plan on taking care of Elaida?" Siuan, who they had forgotten was there, asked.  
  
"I'll just get a few of my Asha'man-" Rand started.  
  
"Rand, you're going to need Aes Sedai help to remove Elaida." Egwene said cutting him off.  
  
Rand thought about it for a moment. "I don't trust Aes Sedai." he said darkly. "With a few exceptions, of course." he quickly added.  
  
"You don't trust your Asha'man either." Min said pressing the point.  
  
"And with good reason, but I trust a few of them. I wouldn't have sent them with Perrin if I didn't." Rand said defensively.  
  
"The point is, Rand, you need our help." Egwene stated in a tone that said she wouldn't back down.  
  
"Light, I don't need your Aes Sedai." he said running his hand through his hair in frustration. "If you want a group of your Aes Sedai can come along, but only if they'll follow my direction during the battle."  
  
Egwene nodded slightly. She knew that the Hall would try to fight her on this even though it concerned the war on Elaida. 


	4. Chapter 4

Again, I don't own Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series or any related material. I only own this plot.  
  
Chapter 4:  
  
Egwene pressed a hand against her temple, her headache was coming back. She had been right, most of them did not like this. "Enough!" she said in a near yell. "This is not your decision. When you voted to declare war on Elaida these decisions became mine. Not yours." she ground out. "I am not asking if you want to send Sisters into the Tower, or if you want to work with the Black Tower on this." She gave a small exasperated sigh before continuing, "It is better to do it this way, with the Asha'man using the gateways. If for any reason we should have to withdraw, we would still have an edge since no one in the Tower will be able to see their weaves."  
  
"But, Mother," a yellow sitter protested, "the male channelers. . ." she hesitated glancing at Rand for a moment before continuing "What about the taint?"  
  
"I already told you," Rand said fiercely, "the taint has been removed."  
  
"How can you be sure?" the yellow said skeptically.  
  
Rand thought about how to explain it, since they could not just feel the difference. "With the taint, seizing Saidin was like jumping into water with a thin layer of oil on the top. The feel of it would make you want to double over and empty your stomach. Now, with the taint gone," he said with emphasis on the last part, "there is not that layer of oil over the Saidin. It no longer has the nauseating taint."  
  
The yellow Sitter nodded and Rand continued. "I will be going to the Black Tower to get some Asha'man; we can create a battle plan when everyone is here."  
  
Almost an hour later, Rand created a gateway inside Egwene's office tent and motioned Egwene and Min through. After they stepped through, he followed and closed the gateway behind him. He was relieved to see that his gateway had worked correctly and that they were now at the Black Tower. He noticed a young Soldier walking by a few feet away and motioned him over. The young man came over and bowed when he noticed the dragons on Rand's arms. "What is your name, Soldier?"  
  
"Garen, Lord Dragon." he responded nervously.  
  
"Well, Garen, can you take me to the M'hael?" Rand questioned.  
  
Garen nodded. "The M'hael's office is this way." he said as he started off. He led them through the streets towards a large building.  
  
It was much larger than before, Rand noted as he glanced around. Egwene seemed shocked by the size of the area, though little of it showed on her face. Garen led them up some stairs into a large building.  
  
They made their way down hall after hall until Garen stopped in front of an ornately worked door. "This is the M'hael's office, Lord Dragon." Garen said as he knocked on the door.  
  
"Thank you. That will be all." Rand said just as a voice from the inside invited them in. Rand opened the door strode inside, followed by Egwene and Min. He stopped short when he saw Logain. "Logain? What are you doing here? Where is Taim?"  
  
"Welcome, Lord Dragon, I'm the new M'hael. It was discovered that Taim was behind the assassination attempt a short while back and was executed. One of the Dedicated overheard him giving the orders to the group of Asha'man that attacked you." He nodded a greeting towards Egwene and Min.  
  
Rand simply nodded at this new information, not very surprised. He had never really trusted Taim and neither had Lews Therin. "I need a group of Asha'man, fifteen should be good."  
  
"Done. Do you mind if I ask what for?" Logain responded.  
  
"I plan on removing Elaida from power." Rand started. Egwene cleared her throat noisily. "We will be working with Egwene's Aes Sedai on this one." he added.  
  
Logain nodded. "So that would be why the Amyrlin is here too. I've got some in mind who would be good for the task."  
  
"Can you have them ready within the hour?"  
  
Logain nodded. "Soldier Garen." he said as he sat down at the desk and began writing a list of names. Garen walked up to the desk, stood at attention, and waited. When Logain finished the list he handed it to Garen. "Do you know those names on the list?" When Garen nodded he continued. "I need you to find each of them and have them report here immediately. Dismissed." The soldier nodded and bowed before leaving the room.  
  
Within a short time Dedicated and Asha'man arrived at the office. Logain introduced him to each one as they entered. Rand only saw fourteen. When he asked about it, Logain responded. "I will be the fifteenth. The Head Trainer will fill in while I am gone."  
  
Rand nodded. "We should be leaving now." he said as he opened a gateway to Egwene's tent.  
  
When everyone was through, Rand closed the gateway before turning to Egwene. "You can pick fifteen Aes Sedai to come with."  
  
Egwene nodded in response. She wrote down a list of names and walked outside the tent and saw one of the Accepted and hurried towards her. "Accepted, find each of the Aes Sedai on this paper and tell them to come to my tent." she said as she handed the girl the paper.  
  
"Yes, Mother." the Accepted said as she bobbed a curtsy and headed off to find the Aes Sedai.  
  
When everyone arrived at Egwene's tent, Rand began explaining the battle plan. "We will come out on the balcony right outside Elaida's study. With a little luck she will be in the Amyrlin's study. No matter what we must get Elaida and the Keeper." He turned to the Asha'man and Dedicated. "We will create the gateways in case anything goes wrong and we have to pull out. This way we will still have the advantage of Traveling." Rand added any good tactical suggestions that anyone offered to the strategy. 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time or anything related to it.  
  
Chapter 5: spoilers if you don't know what happened to Rand in Caemlyn in book 6: Lord of Chaos and in book 9: Winter's Heart   
  
When Rand awoke it was still dark outside the tent he and Min were sharing. He quietly slipped on his shirt and boots before leaving the tent. He did not want to wake Min up, knowing she would want to go with him. He went to Egwene's study to wait for everyone to arrive and was surprised to find Egwene sitting behind the collapsible table used for her desk. She was slumped over the desk, her head resting on her arms. Rand, thinking that she was asleep, sat in one of the chairs, since he was nearly a half hour early, not wanting to wake her up yet.  
  
"You're early." Egwene said, voice barely above a whisper, as she lifted her head off her arms and sat back in her chair.  
  
"I wanted to get out of the tent before light, there was less chance of waking Min on my way out."  
  
Egwene nodded. He was right Min would want to go with, even though she wouldn't be able to do anything. "Elayne said that she and Aviendha saw you and Min recently." she said.  
  
"She did? So, what did she say?" Rand said trying to find out what she knew.  
  
"She told me what happened between you." Egwene bluffed. During that conversation with Elayne she had been able to tell that she was hiding something that she was excited about.  
  
Rand's face turned to shock getting redder and redder by the moment before he was able to smooth his features, his face went back to a mask of emotionless calm after a few moments. Egwene had to bite her bottom lip hard just to keep from laughing at his expression. She wondered what would cause that reaction.  
  
"She told you about what we did?" Rand asked. When Egwene nodded he continued. "I should have known, women talk about that stuff way too freely."  
  
Elayne had told Egwene about that part but that wasn't what she was hiding. "And she told me about. . . you know. . ." she said trailing off. "This is not an easy topic." she said to herself, just loud enough for him to hear. "Don't worry. I haven't told anyone, and I'm not going to either." she said knowing it was vague enough to mean almost anything.  
  
Rand frowned suspiciously. "She did, did she?" Egwene nodded again. "She tells me not to mention it. . ." Rand muttered under his breath.  
  
Egwene strained to hear what he was saying. She only caught the first part of it since he trailed off getting quieter and quieter.  
  
"Is there any way to remove a Warder bond?" Rand questioned.  
  
"Why?" Egwene said suspiciously.  
  
'So, she doesn't know as much as she wants me to believe she does.' Rand thought with a smirk. "Just wondering. So, is it possible?"  
  
"It can only be removed by the person who bonded the warder." Egwene said. 'Why would he want to know about the Warder bond?' she wondered. A thought came to her, 'Unless, he was bonded. Only one way to find out.' "So, Rand, who bonded you?" Egwene asked pleasantly.  
  
Rand's jaw nearly dropped open. "What makes you think someone bonded me?" he asked hesitantly.  
  
Egwene raised an eyebrow. "Once you started asking about the Warder bond it wasn't that hard to figure out, and then your expression when I first asked you confirmed it. So, who is it? Elayne?"  
  
"Alanna bonded me a few months back. I want to get rid of her bond." he said quietly, avoiding her last question.  
  
Egwene noticed the anger nearly hidden in his voice as he told her. "Why did you let her bond you in the first place then?" she asked genuinely confused.  
  
"I didn't have a choice." Rand muttered darkly.  
  
"So she just bonded you?" Rand nodded. "I see. I'm surprised she didn't try to control you with the bond." Egwene said more to herself than to him.  
  
"She tried." Rand said with a smirk. "She can't control me with the bond. Neither can-" Rand stopped and shook his head slightly, as if realizing what he was saying.  
  
Egwene arched an eyebrow. 'What was he going to say next?' she wondered.  
  
Min ducked into the tent. "Can't leave me behind that easily, sheepherder." she said to Rand. "Hi, Egwene." she said as she sat next to him.  
  
"Hi, Min." Egwene responded. "Rand was just telling me about his being bonded." She noticed Min's eyes go wide as she said that.  
  
Min turned to Rand. "Why did you tell her?! Elayne asked you not to mention anything about us bonding you!"  
  
"He didn't." Egwene said calmly. "You just did. I've been trying to get him to tell me what Elayne was hiding from me, ever since he came in here."  
  
"So, what do you intend to do about it?" Rand asked, giving her a look that said he wouldn't let her do anything to Elayne or the others.  
  
"You can stop worrying, Rand. I'm fine with it. I'm not going to tell anyone." she added.  
  
He nodded slightly. "So, are you going to tell me what happened?" she asked Min and Rand.  
  
Rand started. "When Min and I went to Caemlyn to talk to Nynaeve, she ran off to find Elayne and Aviendha. Shortly after the three of them bonded me."  
  
"Three? But Min can't channel. Willingly this time?"  
  
"Yes, I let them. Elayne and Aviendha found a way to include Min in the bonding. So, now I'm bonded to the three of them. . . and Alanna." he muttered the last part darkly.  
  
Within a few minutes, the other Aes Sedai, Asha'man, and Dedicated they were waiting for arrived. "Min,-"  
  
"No way, Sheepherder. You're not leaving me behind again. Remember what happened last time you left me behind?"  
  
"Yes, you were able to get help because you weren't with me. But I wasn't going to say that." he lied. " I was going to ask if you were ready."  
  
Min nodded. Rand wove the gateway and ushered everyone through before he stepped inside, closing the gateway behind him. 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Wheel of Time or any of it's characters or anything else that is actually part of the series for that matter. So, please don't sue me because it'll only be a waste of time for you since all you'll probably be able to get is a nickel and the lint in my pocket.  
  
Spoilers: It really depends on where you are in the series. I mean, there's spoilers from books 1-9. I don't think that there's any spoilers from book 10 though.  
  
Chapter 6:  
  
Rand emerged with the rest of his group on the balcony right outside the Amyrlin's study. The second group had gone to the room that Rand and Min had first emerged in. Rand signaled for everyone to keep quiet as he pulled the curtain aside just enough for him to see if anyone was in the room. When he pulled back from the curtain, Egwene took a look. Rand had only recognized Elaida, but there was someone else with her. Egwene recognized her though. "The other is Alviarin. She's Elaida's Keeper." Egwene whispered to Rand.  
  
Rand nodded. 'This is going well so far.' Rand thought. "Wait here." he said as he opened a gateway to where group two was waiting. Rand stepped through and emerged in the dark room he and Min had first emerged in. He had made sure that they left this corner empty of anyone that way no one would be killed. "Is everything set here?" he asked Logain. The man nodded. They were to provide back up in case anything went wrong. "I'm going in from here. There's only Elaida and Alviarin in the study."  
  
"Alviarin?!" Logain said, shock showing on his face. "Rand, she's a Darkfriend. One of the top Darkfriends. Watch yourself around her."  
  
Rand nodded. "I intend to." he said just before leaving the room. He closed the door behind him. Like before there was no one in the hall. He took the same route he had used before to the Amyrlin's study. When he got to the door he seized Saidin quickly before throwing open the doors to the Keeper's study. Rand could feel a startled Alviarin seizing Saidar as he wove balefire and shot it at her. Before he could blink she was gone. Still holding Saidin, Rand opened the door and walked inside feigning slight nervousness in an attempt to make Elaida think she had the upper hand.  
  
Seeing Rand, Elaida gave a slight triumphant smile which quickly turned into a frown when she found out she couldn't shield him. "How did you get in here? Where's Alviarin?"  
  
"It wasn't all that hard. And as for Alviarin, I don't let Darkfriends live." He said coldly.  
  
Elaida nodded. She had suspected that Alviarin was Black Ajah but she hadn't had any hard proof. "Have you come to accept my offer?" she asked keeping her voice steady.  
  
"After what you tried to do?! I would have to be a complete fool to accept your offer." he retorted, his glare going even colder, if that was even possible. Lews Therin was muttering about not letting her trap him again, and Rand muted out his voice. "No, I've come to put a stop to your interfering." he slammed a shield of spirit around her and wrapped her in air and tied off both weaves.  
  
Just as Rand finished tying off the weaves, Lews Therin began trying to take over control of Saidin. After a few minutes of struggling against Rand, Lews Therin was somehow able to take over control of Rand's body and the Source. As he began to weave Saidin, Therin began muttering to Elaida, "You won't put us in the box again." He quickly finished the weave and a thin stream of balefire shot from his hand to Elaida.  
  
Rand tried to wrench control from Lews Therin. After what, to Rand, seemed like hours, which in reality was about fifteen minutes, he heard Egwene scream his name, which momentarily distracted Lews Therin and allowed Rand to retake control of his own body. Exhausted from the struggle with Lews Therin, Rand slumped to the floor, unable to hold himself up, and blacked out.  
  
As Min rushed to Rand, Egwene created a gateway to where Logain was, told him what happened, and asked him to begin bringing the other Aes Sedai to the Tower. Egwene stepped back through and closed the gateway behind her. Slightly confused at what had happened to Rand, Egwene wrapped him in air and lifted him to an empty room down the hall with Min right next to her as she did. 


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you all for reviewing. Sorry I haven't updated recently; I wasn't sure where to go after the last chapter.

**Chapter 7:**

The next morning, Rand squinted his eyes against the light pouring in from the window. He was surprised to find himself in a bed and Min, in a chair that had been pulled up next to him, asleep slumped partly over the bed with her head on her arms. Rand moved his arm to prop himself up, and unintentionally woke Min.

"Rand! Are you okay?" Min asked as she gently pushed his shoulder back so he remained lying down.

Rand was too confused to even realize it when she pushed him back down to the bed. "What happened?"

Egwene, hearing voices, got up and walked over to the side of the bed opposite of Min. "Are you all right, Rand? What happened to you?"

Rand tried to sit up again only to have both Min and Egwene put a restraining hand on his shoulders. "I'm not sure. What did you see?"

"It looked like you had Elaida wrapped in air, and then. . . I'm not really sure what happened but you suddenly started mumbling about not being put in the box again and then you killed Elaida with balefire. Not very long after, you just collapsed, unconscious." Egwene said.

Rand nodded, starting to remember what happened. He didn't know how Lews Therin was able to take over his body, but he didn't like it at all. "I don't know what happened." he lied.

Min and Egwene both frowned, folded their arms, and fixed Rand with "The Glare".

"Blood and ashes." Rand mumbled under his breath. "All right, I have some idea as to what happened. I'm just not sure why." He took a deep breath before continuing, "Part of Lews Therin is in me." He noted the skeptical glances that Egwene and Min both shared. "I'm not insane. Egwene, have I ever been able to draw?" She shook her head. "Min, remember how well I was able to draw Kisman and the others?" He saw her nod. "Lews Therin was able to draw. And that tune I was playing back in Far Madding. It's called 'Lament for the Long Night'. I've never heard it before that, but Lews Therin had. He told me about the Choedan Kal, too. So, you see, I'm not insane."

Min frowned even deeper, "Rand, what does that have to do with this though?"

"Somehow, Lews Therin was able to take over my body and Saidin. He shot Elaida with the balefire. I was finally able to retake control. I don't remember anything after that though." he stated thoughtfully.

"That must have been when you blacked out." Egwene said as she and Min exchanged another worried glance. They were both concerned that Lews Therin Telamon would be able to retake control over Rand's body.

Rand sat up quickly, "I'm fine." he protested when they tried to get him to lay back down. "You have control of the White Tower now?" Egwene nodded. "Good. I should get back to Tear before Alanna, and Cadsuane start looking for me."

"A little too late for that, Rand," Egwene commented. "They Traveled here earlier this morning."

"Light," Rand, only now realizing that he could feel Alanna more strongly in his head than before, muttered under his breath though both Min and Egwene heard it.

"Nynaeve and Elayne are coming-"

"They're already here," Rand said, cutting Egwene off, "or at least Elayne is, I'm not sure about Nynaeve, though Aviendha is here too."

Egwene shook her head slightly almost in amusement, she had never expected Rand to ever let anyone bond him- willingly at least- let alone three. She was broken out of her thoughts by Rand suddenly muttering, "Oh, Light. Oh, Light. Oh, Light."

"Elayne and Aviendha are headed this way," Rand said when he noticed that both Min and Egwene were giving him confused looks. Egwene looked even more confused and Min was now frowning at him in what appeared to be disbelief, "And Alanna is on her way too," he added in explanation. Egwene now nodded in understanding.

"She doesn't know- I mean, you didn't tell her about. . . us, did you?" Min managed to get out, her voice laced with suspicion.

"Of course, I didn't tell her who bonded me," he shot back.

Min nodded before realizing exactly what he had said, "Wait! So, she knows someone bonded you?"

"It was a little hard to hide that from her, Min, since she was unconscious for three days because of it," he explained quickly.

Min nodded slightly. When a slight knock came from the door, Min walked over and opened the door slightly as Egwene moved to see who it was. Alanna glided through the doorway, with a glaring Elayne and Aviendha close behind her, and looked around frowning. "Where did he go?" she demanded, whirling around to face Min, agitation seeping into her voice. "He was here a moment ago, and now I can't even feel him," she added, not taking in who was around.

"Why would you be able to feel him, Alanna?" Egwene questioned as Min shut the door, 'Light, where had Rand gone?'

Alanna hesitated for a moment before answering, "Because he is my Warder."

Min, Elayne, and Aviendha were glaring at Alanna now, but Egwene ignored them. "Why would Rand let you, or anyone, bond him?"

"Since I bonded him, he let someone else bond him," she said trying to change the direction of the questioning.

"I know that, and I know why he let himself be bonded. Rand and I were talking just the other day and an interesting topic came up," Egwene said all-knowingly. She paused a moment, carefully watching Alanna's reaction before continuing, "He told me that he never let you bond him, that you didn't give him any choice in it."

"I- Someone had to do it. He's the Dragon Reborn; I had to try to use the bond to get him to accept Aes Sedai help."

"But it didn't work, did it? You couldn't control him with the bond like you intended to, could you?" Egwene said, smoothing her skirt.

Alanna shook her head slightly, "No, Mother. When I found out someone else bonded him, I told him I would release his bond if whoever else has his bond was capable of handling him, but he wouldn't tell me who it was."

"I happen to know that she is quite capable," Egwene said looking at Elayne, Min, and Aviendha each in turn.

"You, Mother?" Alanna asked shocked.

"No, not me. So, will you release his bond?"

"Of course, Mother. As soon as I can find him I will release him."

"Good. Rand?" she got no response. "Rand! I know you're still here; You used this same thing on me in Cairhien before, remember."

There was an audible sigh from the corner of the room before Rand materialized seemingly out of nowhere. "Now, will you release the bond?" Egwene asked Alanna.

Alanna nodded and walked over to Rand, placing her hands on his head, "You need to unblock the bond for this to word, Rand." Once he had, if reluctantly, lowered the block, she let Saidar flow into him as she undid the Warder bond. Once the bond was removed she lowered her hands and stepped back from him.

"Alanna, will you leave us now?" Egwene asked, in a not quite commanding tone, though one leaving no room for protest. Once the door closed behind Alanna, she shielded the door and placed a ward against eavesdropping.

As soon as the ward and shield were up, Elayne spun around to face Egwene, "How did you know?" Before Egwene had a chance to respond, Elayne was halfway across the room towards Rand, "You didn't tell her, did you?"

Egwene sighed slightly, "He didn't tell me about the three of you bonding him, Elayne, only about Alanna. Min thought we were talking about you three bonding him and had the same reaction you just did."

"So you're not upset?" Elayne asked.

"A little. Only because you thought you had to hide it from me, though." Elayne nodded slightly. "I should probably go now," Egwene said giving a meaningful look to Elayne, Aviendha, and Min before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.


	8. Chapter 8

**fantasyfan:** it's set after book 9, though it doesn't follow book 10's plotline

yeah, the hall would have freaked out big time, that's why I had chap. 4 start after the hall had already been arguing about the whole situation for a while.

in book 9, when Min, Elayne, and Aviendha were talking before they went off to see Rand, they mentioned trying to get him to go see Egwene. So, it makes sense that she would know the general area of where Egwene would be, and then in chap. 2, I mentioned that Min saw something in the area outside of Tar Valon.

**Disclaimer:** I know that I forgot to put this in the last chapter, but I don't own _anything_ related to Wheel of Time. I never have, and I highly doubt that I ever will.

Areas in /forward slashes/ are flashbacks.

**Chapter 8:**

Elayne watched as Min paced in the hall, occasionally pulling out a knife and doing a few flashy finger rolls before she would realize what she was doing and tuck the knife away faster than thought. Aviendha sat on the floor leaning slightly against the wall as she spun her belt knife every few minutes, her eyes never leaving the wooden door that led to the room. Elayne noticed that she had even checked to see if her belt knife was clear in the sheath several times. She sighed, they had all been on edge since that morning's talk with Cadsuane. "Min, can you please stop pacing?"

Min abruptly stopped and spun to face her. "That's easy for you to say, you can at least block out what they're doing to him in there," Min practically spat. Min placed her hand on her temples, applying slight pressure to them, and shook her head slightly, "Sorry, it's just all this," she gestured to the door. "I hate this! I feel so helpless," she stared at the door, just realizing that one of her knives was now quivering slightly in the door. Sighing deeply, Min walked over to where Elayne and Aviendha were and leaned against the wall, letting herself slide down to the floor.

Aviendha nodded in understanding as she lightly squeezed Min's forearm in support. Light! She hated this too.

Cadsuane frowned deeply, it was already the seventh time and it didn't seem to be working at all. The most it had ever taken anyone, even the most strong-willed person, was only four times in the Chair. Maybe it was time to try a different approach.

_Death is release,_ Lews Therin said from the corner of Rand's mind. He was right, death would be a release. He wasn't afraid of dying, in fact, he welcomed it. 'Duty is heavier than a mountain, death is lighter than a feather.'

Rand was suddenly standing in what was once Emond's Field. Only now, it was completely burned, a few wooden beams from a few of the houses remained, completely charred. Charred bodies of his friends, most of the bodies were burned beyond recognition, were everywhere he looked. Tam. Rand dropped to his knees next to the man who had raised him as his own son, even if not by blood, his father. He was still alive, but barely. Rand could hear Tam's ragged breathing clearly in the near-deafening silence. Suddenly, Tam gripped Rand's cloak and pulled him closer and spoke with great difficulty. A scream nearly managed to rip itself from Rand's throat as Tam went limp in Rand's arms; he wasn't sure how it had not escaped him. He suddenly felt numb, not the emotionless feeling from the void; no, this was different, a more hollow void that emptied his soul.

A sound that sliced through the silence like a dagger, brought him out of his trance. "Rand!" Before his mind even registered what was happening, he was on his feet, sword drawn, running towards the sound. He nearly fell as Trollocs' steel ripped through flesh. The only thing that kept him on his feet, kept him moving was his anger. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" Time seemed to slow as his sword sliced through the Trollocs. Even as they were still falling to the ground, Rand collapsed onto his knees next to Min, Elyane, and Aviendha; and the scream that he had somehow managed to suppress when Tam died intensified into the most gut-wrenching scream ever heard. It was the sound of a man who had just lost everything and everyone in his life that he had ever cared about.

Aviendha scrambled to her feet, with Elayne and Min up beside her in a second. All three looked at each other, that was Rand's blood-curling scream of anger and sorrow that had somehow managed to penetrate the door's wards. Elayne and Aviendha linked and Elayne began slicing through the weaves with Saidar. Once the wards were down, the three women burst through the door with speed that surprised even them. They had barely gotten inside the room when they stopped dead, Rand was sitting on the Chair, with thirteen sisters around him trying to shield him with spirit and air. Cadsuane moved them all out of the room before they even noticed her there. Once they were all out she followed, closing the door behind her. "If you go in there now, and he sees you; you will undo everything we have been working on for the past ten hours," Cadsuane scolded.

"What did you do to him?" Aviendha demanded, glaring at Cadsuane.

"Something I wish I had not had to do. Something I wouldn't have done if anything else would have worked. I manipulated his side of the bond, so it would seem as if all three of you were dead; and right before he saw all three of you simultaneously die, his father died in his arms." She sighed, "I would not have gone that far if he hadn't been so stubborn."

"What just happened in there?" Elayne pressed.

"I am not exactly sure. When he saw you three die, I think, something inside of him snapped. He was suddenly able to break through the shields we had on him; I'm not sure if I want to try it again, at least without more Sisters and some of those Asha'man. But you," she said sternly, "you three must all stay away from him, until this is over. I do not know if something like that could happen again, but if it does and any of you are nearby, it would undo all this effort put into this so far, and make it even harder to redo. Do you understand?" Cadsuane waited for each to nod before she went back into the room, redoing the wards as she closed the door behind her.

Rand sat against the cool stone of the wall, he was shielded but he didn't care. _It's the box,_ Lews Therin muttered from the corner of his mind. No, it wasn't the box; the room was of a decent size, with a bed and a few chairs and a table. It wasn't the box, but somehow he didn't think he could bring himself to care, even if it was. He only cared about one thing at the moment, and that one thing was gone forever now. His mind replayed the moments surrounding the death of Elayne, Min, and Aviendha.

/"This would not have happened if you had not pushed us away, Rand," Aviendha said, almost accusatorially, her eyes showed pain, both physical and emotional.

"You could have protected us from the Trollocs and Myrdrael if you had not kept us away," Elayne said, her eyes flashed with the pain of betrayal.

"No, there was nothing you could have done, Sheepherder. You made yourself too hard to be able to do anything. You thought you needed to be hard to protect us, protect the world, but look what that brought you now," Min shot at him./

Were they right? Had being hard killed them just as surely as the Trollocs had? Rand was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice Cadsuane sitting in one of the chairs in the dimly lit room.

Cadsuane watched Rand from her chair near one of the room's corners. Maybe it was just her imagination preying on her hope that they were getting through to him, but to her, he didn't seem quite as hard as he had earlier.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own _**anything **_from the Wheel of Time.

**Chapter 9:**

Cadsuane was slightly worried -not that she would ever admit it- as she watched the now-dull gray eyes that stared straight ahead, not seeing anything. Rand had not shown any sign of improvement, in fact, he had not shown much of anything as he had completely withdrawn from everything and everyone around him. No one seemed able to get through to him, and they had no way of knowing whether or not they were making any progress with him. She turned her head, hearing the door to the outer room slam against the stone wall. Sighing, Cadsuane stood and was about to leave when she saw the boy look up and for a moment his eyes were clear and unclouded. It only lasted for a moment before his gaze became unseeing and he began muttering too quietly for her to hear. 'Maybe those three girls can help after all.' She walked out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her. "If you want to help, then come with me, and stop slamming doors like whiny children," Cadsuane said, calmly waiting for their responses. Min and Aviendha sniffed indignantly as Elayne and they followed Cadsuane through the door.

Rand looked up at them then, an expression of surprise, confusion, and something unreadable showing on his face for a moment before he turned a smoldering glare on Cadsuane. The bloody Aes Sedai had gone too far. Empowered by his rage, Rand broke through the shield held by thirteen Aes Sedai with only a slight amount of difficulty. Before anyone had time to react, he had shielded Cadsuane, Elayne, and Aviendha; wrapped them and Min in flows of air; and warded the door against anyone who tried to enter.

Rand stood, wide-eyed, when he saw that after shielding them their appearances remained the same, and the bond had come back. "How... I mean, I saw..." he shook his head slightly. Min's voice snapped him out of his state of shock, "Uh, Sheepherder? You think you could undo this anytime soon?" He grinned, a bit sheepishly, and undid the flows of air that held them and the shields that cut them off from the Source, "Sorry."

Elayne's eyes widened and she and Aviendha shared an incredulous look. "Cadsuane," she joked, turning to the elder Aes Sedai, though the words were meant for Rand, "are you sure that this is really Rand and not someone else using an Illusion?"

Rand grinned and walked over to where Elayne stood. He stopped a few inches in front of her and spoke so that no one other than she could hear. His grin grew wider the more Elayne's face flushed a deep crimson.

"Okay, I'll believe it's you! But, speaking of that, we need to talk," Elayne said.

_Yeah, I know it's short but I wanted to create at least a little suspense with the ending. Reviews are greatly appreciated. _:)


End file.
